Specifically, having a beard may make you more of an attractive prospect for a long-term relationship, according to researchers from the University of Queensland.

The researchers photographed men clean-shaven, with stubble and with beards – then asked women to rate images on attractiveness for long-term and short-term relationships, according to Ozy.

Beards rated highly for long-term relationships.

Reader, I married him

The researchers write, in Journal of Evolutionary Biology, ‘Our findings suggest that beardedness may be attractive when judging long-term relationships as a signal of intrasexual formidability and the potential to provide direct benefits to females.’